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Tunnelman51

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Banbury
  • Occupation
    Retired Joiner
  • Boat Name
    Aint She Sweet
  • Boat Location
    South Oxford Canal

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Engager (3/12)

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  1. I cruised the summit of the South Oxford from Fenny to Marston Doles and back yesterday, sixteen miles total, and I didn't see another moving boat all day. I've never known this, not even in January! The plus side is the absence of the armada of hire boats coming up the Napton flight, the absence of anyone converging on one from the rear pushing out bow waves and leaving a breaking wash-the bankside wildlife must be loving it. An ooh! the need not to have your finger hovering over the air horn on those blind bend/ bridge holes Did manage to get back into the marina before nightfall, but - and don't tell CRT- my piling hooks did touch the Armco,(dipped in disinfectant of course) ! I'd be willing to bet that not even Joe and Rose skinner with their mule and nb Friendship ever accomplished this in their heyday.
  2. We have just got to bite the bullet and wait.... we all want to get out there again, but no amount of wishing is going to hasten the orders from above. At least come tomorrow I'll be able to go and sit on the bloomin' thing !
  3. What annoys me is the fact that I can visit my allotment, which is surrounded by a perimeter fence with gate and padlock, and sit down there all day if I wished. But I am not allowed access to my boat stuck in a marina - also surrounded by a perimeter fence with gate and padlock- for maintenance checks etc. Both marina and allotment are within easy cycling distance from my home, so no excessive travel involved, the cycling being classed as exercise. I would come across more people (albeit at a distance) on the allotment site than I ever would at the marina. The only infrastructure that I would need to touch is the padlock on the gate, as not going anywhere with the boat, no need for interaction with anyone else, services etc. There just doesn't seem to be any rational thinking...….
  4. I ran one of these for twelve years. Picked it up for 180 quid in 1976. Empire green it was, 2639cc, six cylinders. Big bench leather seats. 1956 series1. Crossply tyres, it cornered like the Queen Mary, vague steering, you really had to concentrate! I pulled a caravan with it for a while, but got fed up with stumping up for 4 star petrol when it was only doing 17 mpg. Eventually I sold it to a guy in Reading whom had great hopes of restoring her -it had stood in my garden for 15 years- but the last I saw of it was when someone posted a picture of it looking sad and dejected on a street in Birmingham. UUO 433 was its number.
  5. Back on topic. There seems to be a conspicuous absence from Decembers Canal Boat magazine. Naughty step, or P45 ?
  6. Julian Kingston - Yes , of course it was, its all coming back to me now, this old age thing befuddles the brain...….
  7. The precise co-ordinates.....52 degrees 04' 20.31 N 1 degree 20' 08.41 W.
  8. The arm I speak of only became an arm in 1990. This was when the canal was diverted to the east - away from the A423- to allow the building of the present road bridge. There were pylons along there at that time - I've lived within threequarters of a mile for the last 47 years !
  9. Thaxted ! Blimey, that brings back memories ! It was a trip on this boat back in 1984 that introduced me to the wonderful world of canals. The guy that owned it used to bring his nipper around to our house to be child minded by my ex Mrs. He needed crew members to help bring it from Jerico in Oxford back to Banbury. We camped out under the canvas in the hold at Lower Heyford, and had two brilliant summer days gifted upon us. I can hear it now - Ker Doink - Ker Doink - Ker Doink ! I can't recall his name, but he used to run around in an old London black cab, It wasn't you was it ?
  10. I have a feeling that this could be at what is now the arm behind the Evans Halshaw dealership, prior to the building of Hennef way in 1990. This was then known as waterworks lane. The canal was crossed by an aluminium lift bridge built by the apprentices of Alcan Aluminium Works in the 1950's. I think the bridge was re-allocated to the K & A canal, somewhere by the Somerset coal canal arm. This exact spot is now buried underneath the western embankment to the modern bridge, as you exit the roundabout from the A423. There was a wharf here, and not much else save for a few old redbrick buildings occupied by some car repairers. Going back further than the 70's, the only building of substance along this stretch that I can recall was the Switchgear and Equipment co, which stood where Halfords is now.
  11. Sorry about that- I did do a search and found no mention of it.
  12. In their haste to get to the Cropredy festival, has anybody else noticed the innocuous piece of paper pinned to the fence adjacent to bridge 143 on the South Oxford canal ? A new marina, access road , ancillary buildings, conservation lake etc, all taking up pretty much most of the land eastwards of the canal between bridges 143 and 144. I don't know how to post a link, but it can be found at www.publicaccess.cherwell.gov.uk/online-applications/. Ref 18/0041/SO There will probably be loads of objections, but if it does come to fruition I can only see one upside-the creation of an extra holding tank of summit water on an already very busy canal. Is it really necessary? Cropredy marina is looking to expand, and I don't think Fenny is completely full. Perhaps CRT are going to send a man along with a STOP/ GO board and position him at the pinch point/ southern end of the Fenny tunnel cutting, Oh, and they could also cut back the spreading vegetation and dredge the approaches to same, 'cos these waiting boats are going to need somewhere to park..... Me? I think I'll just mosey along there with my deckchair and popcorn on a summer sunday , find a shady spot and watch the ensuing melee......
  13. Six years ago, when everything went digital, my old telly sat in the corner unable to receive anything. I never bothered getting a digibox or any of that palaver. Several weeks went by, during which time I was having a life- you know, doing stuff, listening to the radio, reading etc. I came to realise that I hadn't really missed it. Then the annual reminder for the licence turned up in the post. It was at this point that I questioned the economics of forking out for something that I didn't use, so I duly went online to the licensing website and told them I don't watch telly, and haven't got one anymore Thank you for informing us they said, you can expect a visit from us to check this out. As I said, this was six years ago, and I have never seen a soul with a clipboard, or detector van outside, no harassment, nothing. Other than renewing my 'sorn' declaration every two years online, that's the only contact that I've had with them. Lets hope it continues......
  14. I think I was looking the other way. Just took a walk to the pound below Banbury lock , the earlier poster wasn't kidding about low levels though, it must be about a foot lower than normal. That's a considerable amount of water gone between there and Grants lock.
  15. The BBC weather map is not to be believed. It is now quarter past seven, I am in said place, and it hasn't...…..
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